Speculation has arisen that director Christopher McQuarrie, who worked with Cruise on 2012's "Jack Reacher," is the likely choice.

David Ellison's Skydance Productions will once again co-finance the film with Paramount Pictures while Crusie and J.J Abrams' Bad Robot will team up to produce the film.

Cruise was last seen in the sci-fi pic "Oblivion" alongisde Morgan Freeman. He also starred in "Jack Reacher" and "Rock of Ages." He is currently developing another "Jack Reacher" film, and is set to star in Guy Ritchie's new spy adaptation "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."opposite Armie Hammer. The star will next be seen in "All You Need is Kill" with Bill Paxton and Emily Blunt. He will also be seen in "Van Helsing."

McQuarrie directed 2000's "The Way of the Gun" and last year's "Jack Reacher." He is currently not attached to direct any film.

The last "Mission Impossible" was directed by Brad Bird and became the most popular film in the series both critically and financially. The film scored $209 million in the US and $700 million worldwide. In addition the film scored a 93% aggregate score on RottenTomatoes with critics stating, "stylish, fast-paced, and loaded with gripping set pieces, the fourth Mission: Impossible is big-budget popcorn entertainment that really works." It was later nominated for the Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy awards.

The next "Mission Impossible" does not have a release date and no details on whether Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton would return have been revealed.